


While I Was Away

by tsukkisgf



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Punk, Light Angst, M/M, Punk Yamaguchi Tadashi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-17 23:20:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28857231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsukkisgf/pseuds/tsukkisgf
Summary: Yamaguchi is forced to move to America with his family for a couple of months because of a work opportunity. No one on his team was expecting Yamaguchi to come back so completely different than he was before.
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 7
Kudos: 49





	1. one

~

"Yamaguchi wake up.", Tsukishima said gently shaking his best friend's shoulder.

The green-haired boy lifted his head off of his desk slightly drowsy. "Oh, I fell asleep?", Yamaguchi asked.

"Yeah, you did... Hey, what's up with that? You never fall asleep in class... Is there something up, you've been acting weird all day..", The taller boy replied looking down at Yamaguchi who was still sitting in his seat. Tadashi couldn't help but feel a little giddy that his crush noticed something was wrong with him.

Yamaguchi has had a crush on Tsukishima ever since the day Tsukki saved him from some bullies. Yamaguchi really wanted to confess to Tsukki, but every time he came close to confessing he would just chicken out. Yamaguchi thought deep down that Tsukishima would never like him back in the same way.

The two boys had shared a kiss at a sleepover one time, but they just never spoke about it. Yamaguchi was pretty sure Tsukishima had just forgotten about it, _or_ he was just ashamed that it had happened in the first place. Either way, Yamaguchi was sad that the kiss didn't go any further or lead to a relationship...

Yamaguchi sighed as he got out of his chair and gathered his things, not wanting to answer Tsukki's concerned question. "Well?", Tsukki asked impatiently.

"Oh did you want me to answer like right now, _right_ _now_?", Yamaguchi asked trying to play it off and avoid answering.

"Yes right now, why would I even ask that if I didn't want an answer."

"Sorry Tsukki...", Yamaguchi mumbled.

"Whatever...", Tsukishima said rolling his eyes.

The two boys walked out of the classroom together and made their way to volleyball practice. On the way there Tsukishima put on his headphones listening to music, while Yamaguchi got lost in thought.

Tsukishima knew something was wrong with Tadashi today, but he didn't have a clue what it was. Ultimately he decided not to push it any further, fearful of causing an anxiety attack.

Yamaguchi has always had bad anxiety since he was little and often got anxiety attacks, Tsukishima was always the one to be there for him. It was Tsukishima's special way of showing Yamaguchi that he cared. Yamaguchi was forever thankful for this action. Tsukishima was always the one thing Yamaguchi knew he could depend on no matter what. Kei was the constant in Yamaguchi's life, even when everything seems to be changing at a rapid pace, he knew Tsukki would _always_ be there. Yamaguchi knew he could always count on Kei no matter what, and Yamaguchi loved that dependability about him...

The two boys soon arrived at the gym where practice was being held.

"Um I'll meet you there in a second I need to talk to coach first.", Yamaguchi said getting his friend's attention. Tsukishima merely nodded in response and continued walking towards the club room.

Yamaguchi could feel his anxiety boil up as he walked inside the gym to talk to coach Ukai. He found him talking to Takeda.

"Um I-I need to talk to you guys about something...", Yamaguchi said nervously about their reactions.

"Sure, what's up kid?", Ukai asked trying to ease Tadashi's nerves.

Ukai and Takeda put their full attention on Yamaguchi as he started to speak again. "Um I don't really know how to say this... but my mom got a job opportunity in America so I'm going to have to go with her. I leave in 2 days... I won't be leaving permanently though, it'll only be 4 months...", Yamaguchi explained.

Ukai let out a heavy sigh," Well it's not like I can do anything about it... Just- Just make sure to practice, okay?"

Yamaguchi nodded and turned around walking towards the door. Right before he actually stepped out of the gym, he whipped around turning back to Ukai and Takeda. "Oh, and could you not tell the team I'm leaving until I'm actually gone... I'm not really the _best_ at goodbyes.", he said slightly chuckling while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Um- Are you sure?", Takeda questioned.

"Yeah, I'm sure..."

The adults simply nodded before Yamaguchi left the gym and headed to the club room. Yamaguchi got inside and quickly changed for the start of practice.

~

Yamaguchi and Tsukishima were walking home after practice. The shorter boy anxious to tell his friend the news, but he knew it was now or never...

"Tsukki... U-um I need to tell y-you something.."

The blonde slid his headphones off of his head, resting them around his neck on top of his shoulders.

"Hmm? You're not pregnant... _right?_..."

Yamaguchi softly laughed at Tsukishima's attempt to lighten the tension.

"So, I talked so my mom this morning..", Yamaguchi started.

"Okay?..."

"A-and she said that we're moving to America... It's only going to be for like 4 months though."

"When do you leave?", Tsukishima asked void of any emotion.

"2 days..."

"Oh- Okay...", Tsukishima said before putting his headphones back on and tuning everything else out.

Yamaguchi couldn't help but feel hurt. Did Tsukishima not care about him at all? Was his best friend really _that_ unbothered that Yamaguchi would be leaving for a long period of time? Have all these years of friendship meant _absolutely nothing_ to him?

Thoughts of self-doubt continued to seep into Yamaguchi's head as the two boys continued walking home.

~

'BEEP, BEEP, BEEP'

Tadashi groaned as he reached over and turned off his alarm. He let out a deep sigh at the thought of going to school.

' _Only one more day..',_ He thought to himself. As much as Yamaguchi didn't want to leave his friends and go to a new country he was actually kind of excited. The thought of getting a fresh new start sounded appealing to him. He knew he wouldn't have any trouble with English, since he could speak it fluently. _I mean what could possibly go wrong in America?_

Yamaguchi sluggishly got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. He took a quick shower and put his school uniform on. He then grabbed his things and left the house without breakfast. Yamaguchi wasn't really a big breakfast person, he didn't know how people could eat right when they wake up. It always upset his stomach to eat breakfast, so he always just skipped it.

The boy left his house and headed to the spot where Tsukishima and he would meet each other every morning. Except when he got there this morning his friend wasn't anywhere to be seen.

 _'Maybe Tsukki is just running late... Yeah... I mean he wouldn't just leave me here..',_ Tadashi _tried_ to reassure himself.

Yamaguchi stood and waited 5 more minutes but Tsukishima was nowhere to be seen... The practice was going to start soon so Tadashi left not wanting to be late.

As Yamaguchi walked to the school he couldn't help but let his negative thoughts consume him once again, ' _I knew he would hate me over this. I shouldn't have even said anything in the first place. He probably already moved on from me... Does he seriously hate me that much? I mean I haven't even left yet... Only one more day Tadashi then you can get a fresh start...'_

Yamaguchi finally made it to the club room, when he walked in he was met with a familiar tall blonde. Tsukishima hadn't noticed that Yamaguchi had walked in since his headphones were on and his back was facing Tadashi.

When Tadashi saw Tsukki in the club room he felt a sharp pang in his chest.

' _Was I actually right...',_ Yamaguchi thought.

Yamaguchi walked up to the other and shakily tapped Tsukishima on the shoulder, startling his _friend_.

Sports goggles turned around and glared and his friend. " _What_ do you want?", he spat.

Yamaguchi looked at him in disbelief and had to physically take a step back. The taller one's words felt like a literal arrow through his chest. Yamaguchi's hands started trembling as his breathing quickened.

' _Fuck, Fuck, Fuck. I knew it, he hates me now. Shit, Tsukki finally realized how useless I am. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Of course, he never liked me, he was just putting up with me all these years. I'm so fucking useless. Fuck! Why would I ever think he even liked me I'm dumb, unattractive, overweight, unworthy! What am I gonna do without Tsukisima, I'm nothing without him. What am I gonna do if I don't have Tsukki in my life... Fuck! Everyone is going to see me for what I'm actually worth without him being with me. I hate it, I hate it, I hate me, I hate me...',_ Yamaguchi's thoughts continued to spiral out of control as his breathing started to drastically speed up.

Tsukishima just stood there staring at Yamaguchi as the boy fell to his knees and started to curl up on himself while breathing rapidly and rigidly.

Tsukishima rolled his eyes and let out a dramatic sigh. Sports goggles then crouched down next to Yamaguchi and started to speak, "Are you _seriously_ doing this right now? Yamaguchi I can't always be here to deal with your bullshit... I seriously don't have time for this, deal with it on your own...". Tsukishima stood up before walking out of the club room and heading to practice.

This action only caused Yamaguchi's attack to worsen. Yamaguchi was sobbing uncontrollably as he couldn't breathe, rapidly heaving in and out to _try_ and get air to his lungs. His body was trembling and rocking back and forth as he continued to get no air. Yamaguchi had tuned out the rest of the world and was in his own world of extreme fear and sadness. It had officially happened... _Yamaguchi had lost his pillar._ Yamaguchi couldn't handle the fact as his sobbing got louder while his hands pulled at his hair harshly. The boy was crumbling in on himself and he didn't know how to stop...

~

As Tsukishima was walking to the gym he couldn't help but feel that he had done the wrong thing. Sports goggles had thought that since Yamaguchi was moving to America for a while, he needed to learn how to cope with his anxiety on his own. Tsukishima thought that this would be a good practice experience for him to learn. Tsukki knew that he wasn't always going to be there for Yamaguchi, so his best friend needed to learn how to handle it on his own. Granted it was sound logic, but _maybe_ not the best execution.

The blonde just brushed off the feeling as he walked into the gym where the rest of the team was. "Tsukishima wheres Yamaguchi?", Ennoshita asked noticing right away that Sports goggle's best friend wasn't with him like normal.

"He's still changing," Tsukishima replied bluntly not wanting any further questions.

"Okay... Are you _sure_? He's normally not that late, maybe I should check on him...", Ennoshita thought out loud looking over to 7 and 8 for their opinion.

"Chikara stop worryinggggg, let Yamaguchi change", Nishinoya said jumping on Ennoshita's back causing the bench warmer to flail around in an attempt to get him off.

~

It had been 5 minutes since Tsukishima had left Yamaguchi alone, and the panicking boy had now migrated to the corner. The boy on the verge of passing out from lack of air.

Yamaguchi continued to sob and hyperventilate in the corner as his head started to get light. This scared him even further so his eyes shot open, filled with tears. With his eyes open it ended up freaking him out more as it started to go hazy and black spots appeared in his vision. Soon Yamaguchi started to lose consciousness as he fell forward, passing out with his face to the floor, and his butt in the corner.

Right as Yamaguchi passed out, the club room door opened and Ennoshita walked in coming to check on Yamaguchi. When he saw his teammate in the corner passed out he started to freak out.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!", The bench warmer muttered to himself as he ran over to Yamaguchi frantically trying to find a pulse. He found one, but Yamaguchi was still unconscious with his face to the floor and ass up.

Chikara quickly flipped Yamaguchi on his back. He didn't know what had happened to the poor boy, but he saw fresh tears on his face and scratches up and down on his neck.

Ennoshita attempted to lift Yamaguchi onto his back, but it was no use since the bench warmer was too weak. He ran back into the gym busting through the doors. "Daichi come quick! I can't lift Yamaguchi he needs to be taken to the infirmary now!", The whole gym looked surprised as Daichi and Ennoshita ran back to the club room.

"Fuck, This is all my fault.", Tsukishima muttered to himself.

"How is this your fault?", Asahi asked.

"U-um... No reason...", Tsukishima replied caught off guard that someone heard him.

"Tsukki if you're going to lie to us, at least try to make it more convincing...", Sugawara butted in.

"Don't call me Tsukki."

Sugawara just sighed and walked away too tired to deal with Tsukki's crap. "I'll be with Yamaguchi..", Tsukishima announced before walking out of the gym to go see his best friend.

~

Tsukkshima walked into the nurse to see Yamaguchi laying on the plastic cushioned bench. Daichi and Ennoshita were sitting in chairs next to Yamaguchi's feet.

"What did the nurse say?", Tsukishima asked.

"She said it was likely he was having some type of episode, most likely an anxiety or panic attack and he just passed out from lack of air. You can tell by the scratches on his neck.", Daichi replied pointing to the pinch server.

"Oh...", Tsukki said guilt manifesting within him. Tsukishima then leaned over Yamaguchi and saw the boy's red scratches. Tsukishima winced at the thought of his friend clawing himself up. Tsukishima couldn't look at it anymore so he moved away from Yamaguchi to a different part of the room.

Just then Yamaguchi started to stir in his sleep. The boy groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. Not knowing where he was the boy started to freak out again. Yamaguchi sat up quickly and frantically looked around the unknown room not noticing his teammates. Yamaguchi started to breathe frantically, hyperventilating again. Although this time Tsukishima was there to actually help him. Tsukishima slowly started to walk towards his friend. Yamaguchi started sobbing again and breathing heavily while violently trembling. Tsukki crouched in front of Yamaguchi who had his eyes screwed shut and head facing down.

"Hey Yamaguchi, can you hear me?", Tsukishima asked tenderly surprising his upperclassmen who were watching the whole ordeal.

"L-Leave me a-alone! I- I hate you! G-Go Away!", Yamaguchi screamed while continuing to sob.

"Um, Tsukishima why is Yamaguchi talking like that?", Daichi questioned skeptically.

"I- I don't know why he's acting like that towards me.", Tsukishima stuttered in reply.

Tsukishima wrapped his arms around Yamaguchi as he would normally do when Tadashi was having an episode. Except this time instead of comforting the boy and helping Yamaguchi calm down, it only did the opposite. Yamaguchi started thrashing around in Tsukki's embrace screaming and sobbing louder than before.

"L-Let go of me you fuckass! Please let m-me go! Let me go! P-Please let g-go of me! Please someone help me! Let me go!", Yamaguchi screamed trying to get out of the embrace.

"Yamaguchi listen to my voice, it's me, it's Tsukki..", Tsukishima said gently trying to calm his friend down. This was the worse he's ever seen Yamaguchi get.

"Please help me! Someone help me, Please! Get me out of here, please! Someone h-help me! I-I'm begging you p-please let go!, Yamaguchi screamed ignoring Tsukki's voice.

"Tsukishima let go of him he obviously doesn't like it!", Daichi said raising his voice and standing up from his chair.

"But this always used to calm him down before!", Tsukishima exclaimed tiredly back.

Ennoshita got up from his chair and walked over to Tsukishima. He set a hand on the blonde's shoulder and gave him a look to let go. The boy let go and Yamaguchi's sobs quieted down a lot and he stopped screaming.

Yamaguchi then launched himself onto Ennoshita who was able to catch him in a hug. Yamaguchi buried his head into Ennoshita's neck still sobbing as his legs gave out dragging them both down to the ground. Ennoshita gingerly rubbed his back and whispered sweet nothings into his ear. Yamaguchi was clinging to Ennoshita like it was the end of the world.

For a while, Yamaguchi sat on the floor in the arms of Ennoshita sobbing as he eventually calmed down. Yamaguchi was extremely tired from all the crying and he ended up just falling asleep in the bench warmer's arms. Once the 3 boys were sure that Yamaguchi was asleep, the captain spoke up.

"What the fuck just happened?", Daichi said looking from Chikara to Tsukishima.

"I- I don't k-know he's never been like this... I mean he's had anxiety attacks b-but it was never this bad...", Tsukki said slightly stuttering as he still shaken up by what happened.

"Well, what the fuck did you do to him? He wouldn't just say that out of nowhere...", Daichi stated the obvious.

"U-um well I didn't necessarily _do_ something... but I might've _not_ done something..."

"What?"

"Well, you know how Yamaguchi is going to move to America tomorrow right..."

"Mhm... Wait what?", Daichi said confused and surprised.

"Oh was I not supposed to tell you? _Shit now he has another reason to hate me.._ "

"What do you mean _another reason..._ ", Ennoshita added in.

"Well basically he's going to be moving to America for like 4 months I'm pretty sure, _I wasn't really listening_ , and I'm not going to be able to be there with him _right..._ And Yamaguchi has always had really bad anxiety and he often gets anxiety attacks, but I've always been there for him... So when we were changing in the club room today he got an anxiety attack, but I thought that since I wouldn't always be there for him that he should learn how to deal with it on his own. So I walked out on him and left him there alone... But in my defense, I didn't think it would turn out this bad!"

"Tsukishima why the fuck would you do that!", Daichi yelled.

"You _know_ he has bad anxiety and you seriously walked out on him! You _are_ the reason it was bad. Did you ever stop and _think_ about how he would actually feel! Can you imagine how heartbroken Yamaguchi is right now... You said you were always there for him, _right?_ Well, imagine how scared Yamaguchi must've been when his only support system walked out on him and left him there _alone_. If you've always helped him out every time he's had an attack, then he probably counts on you as a friend to help him, And you walked out on him! Taukishima _come on,_ I thought you were smarter than this!", Ennoshita lectured.

"I'm sorry _okay_?", Tsukishima said getting defensive.

" _You know what?_ I don't have time for this bullshit, I was only trying to help _damn_.", Tsukishima said before storming out.

The Benchwarmer and Daichi both shared a sigh before placing Yamaguchi back on the bench and calling his mom.

~

"Tadashi wake up...", A woman's voice cooed softly. Yamaguchi slowly opened his eyes to see his mom looking down on him lovingly.

Seeing his mom just made his eyes water again as he remembered what had happened before he passed out. Yamaguchi sat up as his mom gave him a warm hug. Yamaguchi started crying again as his mom held him tightly.

"You've had a rough morning, lets go home so you can rest then we can finish packing.", His mom said tenderly in Tadashi's ear.

Yamaguchi nodded as his mom pulled away with a smile. She wiped her son's tears away and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

The boy's teammates had already brought all of his stuff from the club room so he wouldn't have to walk back and grab it. Yamaguchi picked up his things and started leaving the school with his mom. Yamaguchi stepped out of the school for the last time ever as this _version_ of himself...


	2. two

Yamaguchi sighed as he stepped onto the plane that would be taking him to America. Yamaguchi's parents told him that they would be moving to _Austin, Texas_. Tadashi had absolutely no idea where that was, but he was excited nonetheless.

Yamaguchi hadn't spoken to any of his teammates due to his recent _episode_. He never got the chance to meet with them the last day he was at school. Yamaguchi _could've_ contacted them, but no one on the team had bothered to reach out to him either. _A phone does work both ways._

Tadashi knew he told Coach Ukai not to tell the team, but it still hurt that they didn't even try to talk to him to see if he was okay. It's like they completely forgot Tadashi even existed.

Yamaguchi found his seat on the plane that was located next to a window. He checked his phone in hope of someone messaging him but was quickly disappointed to see zero new messages. He quietly sighed to himself, turning the phone off. The freckled boy leaned his head against the window, closing his eyes tired of everything at the moment.

~

Tadashi stepped outside of the airport and squinted at the hot blinding sun. The boy was well aware that the weather would be hot but he didn't expect his face to feel like it was melting off. Yamaguchi mentally cursed the heat as he got inside the Uber his parents called.

The new house they would be at for the next four months was located in downtown Austin. Yamaguchi personally loved the aesthetic of the city. He had never seen anything like it in Japan. The boy could only describe the feel of the city as _weird._

 _'Yeah no shit dumbass that's why the saying is Keep Austin Weird',_ Yamaguchi mentally scolded himself.

In the car, Tadashi's parents told him that he would be starting school in a couple of days. Since the school system in America was different than in Japan Yamaguchi would be a sophomore. The poor boy had no idea what a sophomore was so his parents had to explain to him that he would basically just be a second-year due to his age.

Eventually, they arrived at the new home. Tadashi was in slight awe at how different the house looked compared to the ones he had seen back in Japan. It looked to have 2 stories which excited Yamaguchi because he had always wanted to live somewhere with multiple levels. Tadashi had lived in the same one-story house all his life so this was definitely going to be an experience for him.

When Yamaguchi walked inside he quickly realized _how_ different it was from their dwelling in Japan. The space inside was very open and not too cluttered. It was already fully decorated inside with a modern aesthetic. Tadashi's Mom led him upstairs where his new room was.

Yamaguchi's new bedroom was pretty basic and plain. The room itself was pretty large and spacious. It had a small walk-in closet and a balcony that overlooked the front of his house.

Yamaguchi quickly took out his phone to text Tsukishima about his room until he remembered. The boy started to scroll through Tsukishima's and his old texts. Tears started to fill his eyes at looking back on the damaged friendship. Yamaguchi sniffled turning off his phone and laying down on his new bed, exhausted from the long day...

~

" _Tadashi_ , honey wake up it's time for school.", Yamaguchi's mother said gently waking him up.

The freckled boy yawned, rubbing the sleep away from his eyes. Tadashi said good morning to his mom before she left the room to let him change. Yamaguchi was extremely anxious but sort of excited to start American school.

Yamaguchi went over to his closet and stood staring at his clothes unsure what to wear. The boy grabbed his favorite green t-shirt that had a cartoon frog in the middle of it and had English writing above the picture that read 'FROG'. Yamaguchi paired that with his favorite pair of blue jeans.

After the boy got dressed he grabbed his old school bag and the bento his mom made for him. Yamaguchi thanked his mother and bid goodbye before walking out of the house.

Yamaguchi wandered on the sidewalk trying the find where the bus stop was. Eventually, he saw other teenagers who looked about his age so he decided it was best just to stand with them. Soon a yellow school bus showed up with 'Austin ISD' written on the side.

He stepped on the bus filled with people and gulped as he slowly walked down the aisle making eye contact with the people who were already sitting in the seats. He felt as if they were staring him down. Yamaguchi was able to get a seat by himself near the middle of the bus, which he was thankful for.

Yamaguchi was so utterly confused at American culture. There were yelling teens in the back of the bus who were blasting loud music that Yamaguchi had never heard of before. The kids in the back were also jumping on the speed bumps, causing them to aggressively bang their heads on the roof. When the kids dropped back down in their seats they started to laugh like maniacs. They sort of reminded Yamaguchi of cavemen in a way. He had heard Americans were stupid, but he didn't think it would be this bad. What shocked him the most was that the bus driver was seemingly unfazed.

Yamaguchi was sitting forward trying to mind his own business when an empty water bottle hit the back of his head. He turned around to see the entire back of the bus looking at him and laughing like hyenas. Yamaguchi just sighed annoyed and turned back around, not letting it get to him.

Soon the bus pulled up to the high school and Yamaguchi got off. He wiped his clammy hands on his jeans as he looked around seeing the crowded school ground. Yamaguchi just needed to make it to the office so he could get his schedule and it would be all okay _... Right?_

As Yamaguchi walked closer to the front doors he took in his surroundings. He looked over to his right and saw a kid with his jeans practically falling off as he whistled at girls while a speaker was in his backpack blasting music.

Yamaguchi looked to his left to see a big circle of guys with their arms out forming a 'T' with their body. Inside the circle was a kid crouching with his head in his hands visibly shaking. The people forming the circle were chanting something Yamaguchi couldn't quite hear.

As Yamaguchi was walking past a group of girls one of them stepped out in front of him, blocking his path.

"Oh my gosh, you are _so_ cute! Where are you from? You're like _so_ Asian!", The girl exclaimed in a condescending tone. Yamaguchi stood still and looked at the girl stunned.

"Does your shirt just say _frog,_ that's _so_ fucking weird", another added in.

"Bridget, shut the fuck up you _whore_! Stop being mean to the poor Chinese boy!"

"Uh actually I'm Japanese.", Yamaguchi corrected the girl quite unsure what to do in this situation.

"Omg guys, it can speak English!", The original girl exclaimed to the group.

"Your eyes are like _so_ small!", another one of them said.

"Look I can do it too!", one of them exclaimed while pulling their eyes back.

To be quite honest Yamaguchi couldn't tell them apart, they all looked the same to him. Like a bunch of little yapping chihuahuas with blonde hair.

"Uh- Could you not do that...", Yamaguchi said still very confused about this interaction.

"It's totally fine though! I have Chinese friends and they never say anything about it! You're just overreacting.", The girl who pulled her eyes said patronizing Yamaguchi.

"Whatever. If you'll excuse me I have to go.", Yamaguchi said not caring anymore if he was rude.

~

Yamaguchi gulped nervously as he stepped into the front office of the school.

"Hey hun, what can I do for you?", The receptionist asked with a slight southern accent.

"Um I just transferred here from Japan and my mom said I could get my schedule here...", Yamaguchi replied awkwardly shifting from one foot to the other.

"Oh yes! It's Tadahshee right?", The receptionist asked horribly mispronouncing his first name.

"Uh it's pronounced Tadashi.", Yamaguchi corrected trying to sound nice.

"Oh, my bad Taedashee.", The reception said once again horribly mispronouncing his first name.

"Well, here you go, hun.", the receptionist spoke handing him his class schedule.

"Thank you.", Yamaguchi politely said before bowing and leaving the office.

"Oh Lord, help this kid.", the receptionist mumbled under her breath before typing once again.

~

Yamaguchi wandered through the halls of the school trying to find his homeroom. With the help of a few random students, he was able to find his first class, _English._

He walked into the classroom to see most of the students there already. Yamaguchi walked up to the desk in the corner where the teacher was sitting on her phone.

"Hello?", Yamaguchi said more like a question.

The teacher looked up from her phone. "Oh! You must be the new student _Tadaashee_ , the lady horribly mispronounced his name.

"Tadashi.", The boy corrected politely.

" _Right_. Well, you can just take a seat over there and we'll get you situated soon.", the teacher said pointing at the back right corner of the classroom.

"Thank you.", Yamaguchi said bowing and turning away.

Soon the first bell rang and the teacher stepped in front of everyone to get the lesson started.

"Alright class, today we have a new transfer student from _Japan_!", the teacher said excitedly.

" _Tadaeshee_ why don't you introduce yourself."

Yamaguchi stood up from his seat. "Hello I'm Yamaguchi Tadashi, I just transferred from Japan. Please take care of me!", He said before bowing.

As Yamaguchi's head was down from the bow he started to hear whispers and snickers. The boy held in tears as he sat back in his chair, upset that he had screwed up in front of everyone already.

"Um- _Alrighty then_... Uh, today we'll be reviewing for our next test.", The teacher spoke slightly awkward after Yamaguchi.

~

It was finally the point in the day which Yamaguchi dreaded the most... _lunchtime._ Yamaguchi walked into the cafeteria and hesitantly walked through the aisles of chairs and tables.

The majority of the seats were either taken by a person or bag. Whenever Tadashi noticed a free spot the people at the table would glare at him and give him disgusted looks, forcing the boy to keep walking.

Tadashi soon realized that there were no places for him to sit, so he walked out of the school to look for somewhere quiet outside. Yamaguchi wasn't even sure if he was allowed to go outside, but he decided to risk it.

Tadashi looked around a bit before finding a spot under the bleachers. He sat down on the cold concrete. The boy took out his bento and started to eat quietly by himself. Underneath the bleachers was pretty secluded from the actual school and anyone already outside. If anything were to happen there no one would even know...

~

Yamaguchi tiredly stepped the school bus and started walking back home. Yamaguchi was exhausted from being laughed at behind his back. On top of that, everyone assumed he couldn't speak English so they all treated him like some type of pet. The tone everyone used towards him was so _belittling_.

Tadashi eventually made it to the house and went immediately upstairs to his room. The boy flopped on his bed with his head buried inside his pillow. Tears slowly leaked from his eyes as reminisced over the shitty day.

Soon the boy was a sobbing mess in his pillow, he wished he could go back to Japan. Tadashi wanted to go back in time more than anything. He missed hanging out with Tsukki, laughing with the team, he just missed all of it. The boy wanted to have friends again, he hated being an outcast that was isolated from everyone. He hated all of it, the boy just wanted this terrible nightmare to end already.

Tadashi eventually stopped sobbing and just laid still, before flipping onto his back. Yamaguchi sniffled picking his phone up, slightly hopeful that someone had reached out to him. Disappointed filled the boy when he saw 0 new notifications.

Yamaguchi bit his lip in frustration before opening google. Tadashi looked up restaurants to eat at since he was kind of hungry but also just bored.

He scrolled mindlessly through the different restaurants before a pizza joint caught his eye. It was within walking distance so he figured _why the hell not._ Yamaguchi looked up directions to the restaurant before texting his mom and leaving the house.

~

Yamaguchi made it to the restaurant that was located on the busy street of south congress. It was a pretty busy area filled with different people and shops. The boy was fascinated by the liveliness street lined with shops and restaurants of all kinds.

Yamaguchi walked into the pizza joint and they sat him down at a booth. Inside the restaurant, it was pretty dim, but the atmosphere was nice. The interior of the restaurant felt weird but in a good way. On the wall next to his booth was a 'Help Wanted' sign. Yamaguchi looked at it for a while before reading the menu. Yamaguchi was looking down at a menu when someone walked up to him.

"Hey I'm Jac, Welcome to Home Slice. I'll be your server today, what can I start you off with to drink?"

Yamaguchi looked up to see a tall woman. She had short hair that was parted down the middle. The right side of her hair was a dark red while the opposite side was a dark black. Yamaguchi thought it looked cool, everyone back in Japan had pretty normal hair. Jac was also wearing black lipstick on her top lip only along with black smudged eyeliner. Her ears were covered in piercings. Tadashi was in slight awe at how cool she looked. 

"O-oh um can I just get a water?", Yamaguchi said slightly stuttering at the beginning and slightly embarrassed in front of the pretty waitress. 

"Alright, would you like any appetizers or anything else as well?"

"No, just the water.", Yamaguchi smiled politely.

"Okay great! I'll just go get that water now." Jac said before leaving the table and going into the kitchen.

Tadashi sighed as he looked around the restaurant. He honestly loved the feel of the restaurant, it was completely different from anywhere he had been in Japan.

Soon Jac came back with his water, "So can I get your order?"

"Um- Can I get a small pepperoni pizza?", Tadashi asked deciding to stay in his comfort zone.

"Sure! I'll get that right out for you!"

~

Yamaguchi sighed in content as he finished his last slice of pizza. It was way different from all the pizza he had ever eaten in Japan. He has hadNew York-style pizza in Japan before, but it hadn't tasted as good as this one.

Soon the waitress came back with the bill along with a small cylinder candy that had 'Smarties' written on the fun colored package. Tadashi paid the bill and shoved the candy in his pocket before walking out of the restaurant.

~

A week had passed that consisted of the same thing. Tadashi's days comprised of the same thing; go to school, eat lunch alone, continue school, go home, lay down in bed and do nothing, go to bed, and repeat. Yamaguchi felt so _isolated_ from everyone, he had no one to talk to. He missed all of his friends back home and more importantly he missed Tsukki. 

The boy didn't have his best friend anymore. He had no one to lean on, he was utterly _alone._

Yamaguchi was currently walking to the pizza joint because he had nothing better to do than eating his feelings. Tadashi walked into the restaurant and sat in the same booth as before. Yamaguchi recognized the waitress as she walked up to his table to get his order.

"Hey I'm Jac, Welcome to Home Slice. I'll be your waitress for today, what can I start ya off with?"

Yamaguchi told the girl his order, he had just gotten the same thing as before. As Tadashi was telling her his order, he found his eyes wandering to the 'Help Wanted' poster next to him. Jac started to walk away from Yamaguchi when he called out to her.

"Could I get a job application?" the boy spontaneously asked slightly surprising himself.

"Yeah sure, I'll go grab that right now.", Jac casually responded before walking away.

Yamaguchi started to mentally freak out at the fact that he had asked for a job application. He couldn't believe he had just done that. Tadashi was never really a spontaneous person, which was why he was so surprised at himself for asking.

About 10 minutes later Jac came back with his Pizza as well as the application. Yamaguchi thanked her before digging into his food. As he ate he couldn't help but wonder if it was the right idea to get an application. The boy continued to overthink things as he ate his pizza.

~

Yamaguchi found himself laying on his bed staring at his ceiling once again. He had been doing the same thing for the past _2 weeks._

Hewas tired of his teachers thinking he couldn't speak English. He was tired of how the popular girls treated him like some type of _pet._ He was tired of being _so_ alone all the time. He was just so tired of _everything_. All he really wanted was someone to talk to. Yamaguchi hadn't made any friends in America and all of his "friends" in Japan never reached out to him. Tadashi missed them all so much but it was just like they forgot about him.

Yamaguchi had no one to lean on, laugh with, or to talk to. The boy had nothing stable in his life that he could depend on, he had no _pillar_. Yamaguchi felt like a plastic bag drifting through the wind, wanting to start again. He felt so paper-thin. He felt like a house of cards, one blow from caving in. It was as if he was already buried deep. Six feet under and he would scream, but no one seems to hear a thing.

Tadashi sighed and sat up, looking over to the job application sitting on his desk. He stared at it for a while before climbing off his bed. He walked over to the desk and sat down on his rolling chair. Yamaguchi sat and continued to stare at the application before he grabbed a pen and started to fill it out. After a while, he finally finished filling it out. On a couple of the questions, he was a bit confused but he answered them to the best of his ability. 

Yamaguchi checked the time and saw that it was already 1 in the morning. He got up and trudged back over to his bed before flopping onto it, burying his head in his pillows.

As the boy's eyes got droopy he imagined what it would be like to work at the restaurant. He couldn't help but feel a sense of hope for the future. The hope of turning things around and everything getting better. Yamaguchi knew deep down inside that things were going to get better for him.

_Oh, how wrong he was..._


End file.
